Thursday, December 15, 2005

Some lesser known Cricketers I admire

We all know of the famous feats of Sachins, Kumbles, Laras and the Pontings. There are other cricketers who may not be such geniuses, but certainly are highly talented and need mention. Although there are many such cricketers, I will touch on a few ones that I really admire.

These guys are all fighters to the core, bring a sense of calm in the midst of panic and generally make me uneasy if they come into play (if they are the opposition).

Russel Arnold - Sri Lanka's biggest mistake in the ongoing series was dropping him. A match-winner himself, I have seen him turn around those matches the opposition thinks it is winning! Unfortunately he comes in at No.5, 6 or 7 and therefore doesn't have the opportunity to score hundreds. A thorn in India's side many times, I would have promoted him up the order in Tests to bat near Atapattu and Jayawardene.

Micheal Bevan - A better known batsman, Bevan makes it look easy when he is on the crease. You have the Aussies on the mat, most of the recognized batsmen are gone and they need 70-80 runs with only the tail for company. In walks Bevan and starts running like hell. You think, this guy is just content with singles and twos, what is the harm in that? Before you realise, they need just 40 runs, then 20 and then surprisingly, they have won the match! Michael Bevan, 51 not out. again, no big hundreds since he comes down late in the batting order.

Robin Singh - One of my favourite cricketers, he was given a short shrift by selectors when he was younger and came into the Indian team very late (around 30, I guess). Immediately, the fielding standards increased. This guy was throwing himself around the ball so much, you would have thought it was a 16 year old! Batting late in the order, he was responsible for giving some butterflies in the stomach to the opposition with his late charges. His short medium pace was useful when the ball was swinging, such as in England.